January 2016 Wrap Up

This year my friend and I decided that we would begin the year by re-reading the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. It was a great plan. I had been meaning to re-read them for a very long time and this was just the perfect excuse to kick my own bum into gear and actually re-read them! 

So for the month of January, I've read 6 books.

Book #1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy. He lives with his Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and cousin Dudley, who are mean to him and make him sleep in a cupboard under the stairs. (Dudley, however, has two bedrooms, one to sleep in and one for all his toys and games.) Then Harry starts receiving mysterious letters and his life is changed forever. He is whisked away by a beetle-eyed giant of a man and enrolled at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The reason: Harry Potter is a wizard! The first book in the "Harry Potter" series makes the perfect introduction to the world of Hogwarts.

I loved this book just like the first time I read it. I couldn't believe the differences between the book and the movie though. So much was different that I actually had a hard time believing that the director of the film had even read the book. This book was a 5/5 stars for me.

Book #2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

All Harry Potter wants is to get away from the Dursleys and go back to Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby - who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike. And strike it does. For in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockheart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls' bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley's younger sister, Ginny. But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, and someone--or something--starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects... Harry Potter himself.

This was just as good as I remembered it being. I absolutely love re-reading the books and I hope the rest of them live  up to their memories like this one and the first have. I am still just a little mad about them being so different. They wound up going from beautiful adaptations to....meh....

Book #3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter is lucky to reach the age of thirteen, since he has already survived the murderous attacks of the feared Dark Lord on more than one occasion. But his hopes for a quiet term concentrating on Quidditch are dashed when a maniacal mass-murderer escapes from Azkaban, pursued by the soul-sucking Dementors who guard the prison. It's assumed that Hogwarts is the safest place for Harry to be. But is it a coincidence that he can feel eyes watching him in the dark, and should he be taking Professor Trelawney's ghoulish predictions seriously?

I think so far this one is the one I had the most issue with when it came to the adaptation. I love the original story and I dislike what the person who wrote up the screenplay did to it. They entirely skipped out on the argument between Ron and Hermione, then they entirely changed what Sirius looked like. I did enjoy reading it again and I am glad I agreed to do a full read-along. I loved the way she wrote the hippogriffs as well. It made me want to see one in real life.

Book #4: The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

Nicholas Flamel was born in Paris on 28 September 1330. Nearly seven hundred years later, he is acknowledged as the greatest Alchemyst of his day. It is said that he discovered the secret of eternal life. The records show that he died in 1418. But his tomb is empty and Nicholas Flamel lives. The secret of eternal life is hidden within the book he protects - the Book of Abraham the Mage. It's the most powerful book that has ever existed. In the wrong hands, it will destroy the world. And that's exactly what Dr. John Dee plans to do when he steals it. Humankind won't know what's happening until it's too late. And if the prophecy is right, Sophie and Josh Newman are the only ones with the power to save the world as we know it. Sometimes legends are true. And Sophie and Josh Newman are about to find themselves in the middle of the greatest legend of all time.

I was gifted with this book after my friend and I decided we were going to take part in this tradition called "Christmas Book Flood" (I cannot spell it in its original Icelandic). I had seen a post about it on Facebook and suggested we do it because we are both huge readers and we are seriously the best of friends. We had stopped to get my grandma's gift and I swear she may have taken all of two or three steps and shouted "I'm done!!" across three aisles of Barnes & Noble. This book is fantastic and I enjoy the way he wrote it. I ended up flagging a lot of things that I thought were funny and wanted to remember.

Book #5: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

The summer holidays are dragging on and Harry Potter can't wait for the start of the school year. It is his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and there are spells to be learnt and (unluckily) Potions and Divination lessons to be attended. But Harry can't know that the atmosphere is darkening around him, and his worst enemy is preparing a fate that it seems will be inescapable ...With characteristic wit, fast-paced humour and marvelous emotional depth, J.K. Rowling has proved herself yet again to be a master story-teller.

There was so much that they missed between the book and the movie that you almost wonder why they did it. I mean I understand if it would have been way too much to put in for the time allowed, but still. They could have changed things to have the important parts kept in the movie. I loved the scene at the World Cup when the twins win the bet with Bagman, I don't like however, that they entirely removed Ludo Bagman (and the scenes with Mr. Crouch) from the movie. I enjoyed the interplay between the characters and how they figured out different things and these scenes were crucial to the plot. 


Book #6: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter is due to start his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His best friends Ron and Hermione have been very secretive all summer and he is desperate to get back to school and find out what has been going on. However, what Harry discovers is far more devastating than he could ever have expected...Suspense, secrets and thrilling action from the pen of J.K. Rowling ensure an electrifying adventure that is impossible to put down.

This is my second favorite volume in the series (my first is Prisoner of Azkaban). I feel so bad for Harry's friends. They were trying so hard to be supportive of him and help him, but he just kept snapping at them. It's understandable why it was happening. Still...it was just not something you expect. I love it anyway because come on, it's Harry Potter. The biggest thing of my childhood.